Saturday, May 31, 2014

May Miscellaneous

I'm getting back into the habit of bringing my big camera with me a lot of places, but I still mostly document our day-to-day lives with my iPhone.  Just a little recap of the little, in-between things that went on this month.....

We were able to start swimming lessons in for Hayden and Preston before the big kids got out of school.  Hayden did really well with her private lessons!  And how darling are baby girl swimsuits?????!!
So proud of this little fishy!!  He wasted no time showing off his skills!
She floats!!
Oh man, she LOVED Coach Sean!!  She'd walk around at home talking about
"Coach Sean" this, "Coach Sean" that and repeat the #1 rule - only swim with grownups!!

Poor, poor Gavin.  Somehow along the way, he has become absolutely TERRIFIED to throw up.  He will sit next to the toilet or with a bowl in his face and cry, hysterically.  I tried telling him to just let it out, that he would feel better when it happened, but he just cried and screamed that he didn't want to throw up.  I actually typed up what he said- "I hate throwing up, it's the worst thing in the world!  I hate the way it sounds!  Why did Jesus do this??!!  I'd rather die than this!  I'm not going to sleep until I throw up, I'm not!"

I've been using my oils (more on that later!!) to help... here you see him smelling Peppermint oil to help with the nausea.  His poor tear-streaked face. :(  He begged to sleep next to the toilet (!!!!), but I made him a bed outside the bathroom in the hallway so he could get there quickly if needed.  He stayed up until midnight because he was so worried about barfing.  I rubbed Balance and Serenity on him to help calm him and eventually he fell asleep.   Thankfully, he never actually threw up that time.

A couple of ways we spoiled our AWESOME teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week!
He said, "Look mom, all my food is long!"
(turkey/avocado roll up, banana, carrot)
Matt decided to try T25 with me, another BeachBody fitness program! #day1
He's such a good sport and I love that we're getting fit together!
Sometimes I just can't stand her cuteness!!!!
A few of the kids join Matt during his workout.
Apparently, shirts {and pants} are optional!
Who knew riding plasma cars was so fun??
When I saw Hayden doing this, it instantly reminded me of a similar pic....
........of me doing the same thing!!! (age 1)
Finished with second session of swimming lessons!!

Brooklyn took pictures of my during my workout this morning
#fitmama #squatjumps #lowerfocus #T25 #beachbody

Current favorite naptime story~ The Gruffalo
Lizard catching in the backyard!  She's the perfect sister to a bunch of boys!!
I found a visitor in Brooklyn's bed
Aaaaaaaand again!  Looks like little sis is taking over the bed!

Friday, May 23, 2014

Cody graduates!!!

Well, another brother has gone and graduated from high school!  Another Toro alum!  Slowly, but surely, they are becoming adults. ;)


Trying to catch a glimpse of Cody as the grads come marching in!
A little wrestling match as the loooooong ceremony goes on...
There he is ^^ Cody Spencer Hamilton
All of us together!!
Proud Dad & Mom
The parents + sibs
Hard to believe it's been FOURTEEN YEARS since I've graduated high school??!!!  Seems like just yesterday!

Congratulations, Cody!  We know you have great things coming to you!!

Friday, May 16, 2014

Last Day of School~ 2014

The end of the school year often seems as hectic as the holidays!  We are always ready to see the end of  early mornings, packing lunches, homework/book reports, etc.!


This morning, they had an awards assembly. Brooklyn got an award for being on Honor Roll (A/B) all year.
Hayden wasn't too keen on sitting through the assembly,
but she kept herself occupied.
Gavin got an award for being on Principal's Pride all year, which means straight A's.  He's such a little smarty pants!!  He has also NEVER missed a single spelling word, E-V-E-R!!!!

And then I try to sneak in a little before school lets out to snap a picture of each kid with their teacher.  Probably won't last much longer with these big kids, especially when they get to middle school and have multiple teachers!
Mrs. Vincent & Brooklyn
Gavin & Mrs. Fleagle
Blake's class with their teacher~
Ms. Parker & Blake
Once again, this year we seemed to have perfect matches for our kids with their teachers.  We've been so blessed over the years in this regard!   They have our kids for more waking hours in the day than we do, so I'm grateful for the love, concern and patience they show toward each of them.

Bring on summer!!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Mother's Day

All I ask for every Mother's Day is that I get pictures with my children, so I make sure we take the opportunity to do that.  I love being able to look back at the pictures of me with each one of them over the years!

I love, love, LOVE these questionnaires and Gavin's responses cracked me up!

And as a perk, Matt & the kids gave me a snow cone machine!  We like doing fun gifts like this.  It will definitely come in handy this summer!

And here we are with our own mothers.....  We wouldn't be who we are today without them!!